HTC Corp (宏達電) has high hopes for its new selfie-focused smartphone and action camera launched in New York on Wednesday, but analysts were still downbeat on the company’s performance this quarter.
The HTC Desire Eye includes 13-megapixel cameras on both the front and back, as the company said it suits “those who love to take great photos, videos and selfies.”
The Taiwanese company also launched an oddly shaped camera, which is designed with a round, periscope-like appearance, which can fit in the user’s hand.
HTC said the HTC Re camera’s design features a sensor that automatically activates the device whenever it is picked up, eliminating the need for a power button.
The smartphone giant also introduced the HTC Eye Experience — enhanced imaging software that can combine simultaneous photographs and videos taken on the front and back cameras into one split-screen image or video — and the Zoe, a collaborative video editing community.
However, HTC shares were unchanged at NT$130 yesterday in Taipei trading, as investors were not impressed with the company’s new offerings and an analyst said the market positioning of the new handheld camera is unclear.
“We don’t know whether it is a camera or an accessory to the HTC smartphones,” an analyst at Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧), who declined to be named, told the Taipei Times by telephone.
The analyst said that if the company considers the HTC Re as an accessory to the smartphones, then the product would not boost sales because only between 3 and 5 percent of HTC smartphone holders would buy accessories.
If HTC sees it as a camera, then its function cannot compete against professional cameras in the market, he said.
The HTC Re will be available in the US from late this month, while the HTC Desire Eye will be rolled out through mobile operators and major retailers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa regions, Asia and the US from this month, HTC said.
Although HTC has high hopes for its new imaging software, Yuanta Securities said that it was always HTC’s hardware that attracts its consumers.
The analyst said the software would not contribute much to HTC’s sales performance this quarter.
HTC has said its performance for this quarter will keep pace with the past quarter, but Yuanta forecast strong headwinds ahead for the company in both the high-end and mid-range markets.
"HTC's sales will probably continue falling this quarter and even next year," the analyst said.
Last week, HTC reported that sales for last quarter plummeted 36 percent to NT$41.86 billion, from NT$65.1 billion made in the previous quarter, but saw its earnings swing to a positive territory of NT$640 million (US$21.02 million) in the July-to-September period.
Additional reporting by AFP and CNA
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